Adriatic Spirit

(Until Sept 2019)

The one that does 6 Adriatic countries in 8 sun-soaked days, from Split to Rome

For those wanting some serious sunshine and summer vibes, we've got a new kid on the block, the Adriatic Spirit, and she's ready and waiting! Packing it all in will take a whole new meaning, in the best possible way. Starting it off in hotspot Croatia, we take it south to the sun-drenched Greek Island of Corfu, before heading up for blockbusters and bucket-list sights in none other than Italy, with a dusting of other hotspots in-between. Perfect for those seeking a damn fine escape in the form of a a perfect 8-day adventure.

Fuel up for days of exploring with delicious fresh breakfast daily. We'll also throw in 2 dinners as part of the deal, designed to get your tastebuds tingling with local faves. All other meals are there for you to roam free, follow your nose to where the locals hang out for even more unique tastes.

Team

Expert Trip Manager, Driver and Local Guides

A highly trained Trip Manager who brings your adventure to life. An expert driver who knows foreign roads better than Google Maps. Local Guides who make tourist traps a thing of the past. This is your team. Smart, friendly, fun, and integral to everything we do.

Transport

All transport included during the trip

Included in your trip is transport across Europe on our fleet of comfy, state of the art coaches. They're kitted out with all the necessities: USB charge points, WiFi, Air Con and a rocking sound system. You bring the other essentials, like tunes, friendships and stories from the night before.

Your group

Travel with other 18-35 year olds from around the world

Our trips are exclusively 18-35. This means you'll be travelling with people just like you, from all over the world- laughter and friendships always guaranteed.

The Adriatic Spirit tour was a beautiful and scenic trip that allowed us to visit many cultures, foods and experiences in a short space of time. However, considering the tour is only 9 days, there were many hours spent on the coach travelling to each country. About 2-3 days of the 9 days are spent in transit, which was a complete waste of time. I'd suggest changing the tour to include more time in fewer countries and reduce time spent on the road

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Anonymous

Traveled Aug 2019

Better for college kids than seasoned travelers

I would not go on Contiki again, especially not on this trip. We spent two long 14-hour days in the bus, not sight-seeing. Then, a long night on the ferry (even though we were upgraded). It was too much transit and not enough sights. Also, everything was a free-time add-on.
Finally, my biggest gripe - I do not believe Contiki as a company supports mental health. I have severe anxiety, which I shared with my trip manager, Tai. I told her the music she was playing loudly through the speakers of the bus was triggering my anxiety and asked her to play it in the front of the bus (I would sit in the back) or turn it off. My friends and I asked a total of EIGHT times before she turned it off. I had three panic attacks in the back of the bus, which is not how I'd like to enjoy my $1800 (before plane tickets) vacation. I explained this to Tai and did not feel she was supportive. I shared my struggle with family back home who called the Contiki customer service line to share the issue, and they said they would work on it. Tai still played music after this and when I talked to her about it AGAIN, she explained that she had to make the other travelers happy, too, which I found odd because the majority were wearing headphones and listening to their own music. I find this extremely frustrating because I feel that if there were other travelers with Autism or noise sensitivity, they may not have received this push back. I felt as if my mental was not valued or respected by Contiki, especially after the phone call to customer service by my family, and would never recommend this to anyone else. I should not have to repeatedly suffer from panic attacks after confiding in my trip manager regarding my issue due to lack of support. I feel that Contiki does not value customer service or mental health.

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Christine N.

Traveled Aug 2019

Awesome taste of the Adriatic

This trip offered good value for what you got!

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Anonymous

Traveled Aug 2019

Adriatic Spirit

Absolutely loved the trip and the fellow travellers however the trip manager could've been better. She didn't tell us much of what we could do like where to go at night, good places to eat etc. The trip was very fast paced (to be expected) but meant we were sitting on a bus for basically 2 full days in the middle of it which was not just boring but exhausting.

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Anonymous

Traveled Jul 2019

#alltheregrets

See review above. It will tell you everything.

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Anonymous

Traveled Oct 2018

Adriatic Spirit

Great trip - well thought out route and including some different places which I wouldn't normally travel to
Great staff - trip manager was helpful, sociable and supportive throughout the trip
Great value for money - lovely accommodation, good balance of included elements and optional add-ons

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Andres Licea

Traveled Sep 2018

Adriatic Spirit

Good experience... but not like over the top mind blown.

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Courtney Smith

Traveled Sep 2018

Fast paced, amazing adventure

So many great places to see. Wish had a little more time in Croatia.

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Patrizia Tierno Rivara

Traveled Jul 2018

Must do trip !

Although flights to destination aren’t included it can be an add on or you have the option to book your own flights s The trip included all sleeping accommodations, breakfast daily and several dinners. The traveling between countries were also included.

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Pinar Undemir

Traveled Jul 2018

Great Trip Guide!

Affordable. Plain and simple.

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Karen Vlasic

Traveled Oct 2017

Contiki- Absolutely AMAZING! Whirlwind of an adventure!

The excursions made such a difference! Definitely a must do! The trip cost is definitely worth it for how much you see and do !

Fast paced with a lot of travel time but you see so many great places in a short amount of time

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Anonymous

Traveled Sep 2017

Most trips are great

You will mostly see the inside of a bus rather than the world. Because the trip is so new our tour manager had no good tips on what to do to make the trip fun given that we were mostly in secluded hotels with no nightlife and the bus.

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Seann Memery

Traveled Sep 2017

Adriatic Spirit

was awesome highly recommend

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Anonymous

Traveled Aug 2017

Fast new friendships.

The starting location was not that convenient. Too far away from the city centre of Split and not reachable by public transport. Besides that everything was organised very well.

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Jennifer King

Traveled Aug 2017

Adriatic Spirit

The Adriatic spirit trip was a jam packed cultural and country exploration but our tour guide made sure each day was more exciting than the last. This trip was amazing not just for the people but for the beauty of each new Cory we visited

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Wassila Amraoui

Traveled Aug 2017

keep with the good work

Very good, beautiful landscape, good TM. I just didn't clic with the other travelers

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Anonymous

Traveled Aug 2017

Adriatic Spirit

The whole tour was rushed and a little bit unorganised at times, the way the trip was described and what was actually delivered did not feel accurate. Really wasn't enough time in each place and way too much time spent on a bus.

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Anonymous

Traveled Aug 2017

DON'T go on Adriatic Spirit!!! - HUGE rip-off! - July 2017 Review

Contiki's Split -> Rome Adriatic Spirit trip was a complete and utter waste of time, money and energy. The itinerary was incredibly misleading, listing several nonexistent tour "stops" such as Neum, Kotor and Bari - where we did not even leave the bus. This trip, which was essentially only an 8-day tour, included two wasted back-to-back days of 12-hour straight travel on the Coach Bus, in which we were told that we should not use the bathrooms for lack of place for the driver to empty the refuse, as well as a 12-hour overnight ferry ride between Greece and Italy in which we were warned not to interact with any of the other passengers on the ferry as they're known to be "creepy truck drivers."
I paid upwards of 20 Euro to have 480 mb of data on the bus so that I could at least be connected to family during these mind-numbingly long and uncomfortable bus rides, and to my dismay, found that the bus wifi (like many of the promised tour "stops") did not actually exist. I'm still in the process of trying to get my wifi money back from Contiki.
No activities were included in the $1355 USD I paid up-front for the trip. Instead of being supplied with a knowledgeable tour guide and going on walking tours or visiting museums to learn about each of the locations, we would simply get dropped off in the center of town for hours at a time, and told that we had "free time" to "explore" on our own. This was very disappointing as I hadn't done any of my own research ahead of the trip, as when signing up for an organized tour group such as Contiki, I expected to be guided. Rather, any and all of the activities required "add-on" fees, which I suspect went directly into the pocket of Contiki, as these activities were incredibly overpriced. For example, I paid 60 Euros for a Roman dinner which consisted of very simple, large-batch, disgusting microwaved food, and 40 Euro for water sports, which we were told by other tour guides go for 13 Euro regularly.
I felt mislead and to put it simply, screwed over by Contiki time and time again on this trip. The accommodations that we stayed in were so far from the centers of the towns that we had to pay 10 Euro cab rides back and forth to get anywhere, which I did not budget for when planning out my trip.
With flights to and from New York, the trip, all of the add-on activities, the endless cab rides and food, this 8-day trip cost me $3400 USD (which I would not describe as low-cost at all, which is what Contiki bills itself as) and was incredibly disappointing. I would caution anyone against taking this trip, unless you have a penchant for long bus rides and getting ripped off by Contiki.